Photo albums are well known in the art for their use in storing and displaying photographs. Albums may be classified according to a particular occasion such as a wedding, graduation, birthday, picnic, and so forth. The actual use of the album can be as varied as the variety of pictures that may be taken. Photo albums come in a variety of sizes. Full size albums may be capable of holding 8.times.10 photos, wallet size albums fit conveniently in a person's handbag.
The types of mounting devices used to mount photographs within photo albums are as diverse as the aforementioned photo album sizes. One type of mounting device employs individual photo album sheets having a backing page covered with an adhesive and a plastic cover. In operation the plastic cover is lifted from the adhesive allowing placement of the pictures on the backing page. Low tack adhesive will not securely hold the plastic cover and allows dirt and dust to contaminate the adhesive. Many times the placement of the cover will result in wrinkles or creases which may require several tries before the cover is placed smoothly over the pictures. The sticky adhesive also makes placement of the pictures difficult. Placement of the pictures must be exact for movement can lessen the effectiveness. High tack adhesive requires careful placement as repositioning may result in torn pictures. Lines placed on the backing sheet may assist in picture alignment but distract from the pictures. Despite the type of adhesive, any space left between the pictures will become discolored with age. Also, with the passing of time the clear cover may start to crack.
Another type of photo album consists of thin plastic pockets having a slit opening for placement of pictures. The sharp edge of the photographs easily cuts through the plastic allowing the side edges to rip.
Another type of album simply consists of a plurality of blank pages placed within a binder. Pictures are attached to each page by way of corner tabs positioned along each corner of the picture. Each tab must be moistened and then carefully placed over the corner of each picture. The picture must be quickly placed in its position on the album page so as the backs of the tabs do not dry before adhesion. If the picture is placed crooked, the picture must be removed and each tab replaced. If the adhesive on the back of the tab is touched it may result in picture smudges unless the fingers are washed before handling of the pictures.
Still another problem with conventional photo albums is their limitation to insertion of photos. In many instances a person may like to include in a photo album items of an associated memory such as a child's first drawing, a ticket to a baseball game, a particular flower and so forth. For example, a photo album may have pictures of a person's venture to a baseball game and part of the memory is to include a ticket stub or portion of the printed program so as to maintain the memory provided with the photograph. In such instances, the aforementioned photo albums lead to disarray. Items of diverse size may not easily slide within their sleeves and should they be placed upon an adhesive backing, the adhesive is visible in viewing and susceptible to the previously mentioned discoloring.
Thus, what is needed in the art is an inexpensive photo album that provides for framing of the pictures and secures the pictures without need for corner tabs or exposed adhesive. It is, therefore, to the effective resolution of these problems that the present invention is directed.